Speaker Biography: Jan-Michael Masur was born 1982 in Ravensburg, Germany. He earned his Diploma degree in Microsystems Engineering at the IMTEK, Department of Microsystems Engineering of the University Freiburg, Germany, in 2009. Since January 2010 he has been working as a Ph.D. student at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Applied Solid-State Physics (IAF). His general research interest is on InAs/GaSb superlattice detectors for the long-wavelength infrared spectral range. In this field, he has been focusing on the processing, modeling, and electro-optic characterization of homo- and heterojunction superlattice detector materials and devices.

Summary: In recent years, the performance of InAs/GaSb superlattice (SL) detectors for the long-wavelength infrared spectral range (8-12 μm) has been significantly improved. These improvements were due to the adoption of heterostructure design concepts such as, e.g., CBIRD, M-barrier, graded band-gap, or the nbn design, which were employed to overcome the limitations of the previously common homojunction pin-diodes. These novel concepts are complex in terms of bandstructure design and special care has to be taken for the design of a valence band barrier. An unintended, residual conduction band barrier can inhibit the flow of photon generated electrons and shift the operation voltage to a higher reverse bias, which results in higher dark current and noise. Thus, a precise band alignment between the different detector regions is crucial for optimum performance.... Read Full Abstract [PDF]